Article-dispensing apparatus



[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 5/1932 Scottetalm. 2,337,03312/1943 Davies......... 2,632

United States Patent William H. Eburn, Jr. Westport; Joseph H. Miller,Old Greenwich, Connecticut 21 Appl.No. 772,662

[72] Inventors XXXXXX 363333 535555 QQDRRQ 111111 222222 222222 ,6813/1953 Newcomer 2,735,578 2/1956 Woodruff........ 2,864,532 12/1958Gabriel sen 3,064,857 11/1962 [22] Filed Nov. 1, 1968 [45] Patented Nov.10, 1970 73} Assignee Automation and Product Development CorporationPrimary Examiner-Samuel F. Coleman Attorney- Robert E. Corb ABSTRACT:Apparatus for automatically dispensing singly and in rapid succession,preferably rectilinear articles such as cartons. The dispenser includesa holder for several stacked rows of articles, a pusher for shifting thebottom row laterally to a dispensing shelf, another pusher for movingthe row lengthwise to dispense the articles one at a time from the endof the shelf and a gate at the end of the shelf adapted to restrain thearticles and actuate a counter.

Darien, Connecticut a corporation of Connecticut [54] ARTICLE-DISPENSINGAPPARATUS 15 Claims, 6 Drawing Figs.

[51] Int. [50] Field of Search...

Patented Nov. 10, 1970 JOSEPH H. MILLER WILLIAMNH.EENBTUORN JR.

V S BYMQWZA ATTORNEY Patented Nbv. 10, 1970 1 I 3,539,074

,FIG.2

JOSEPH H. MILLER WILLIAM H. EBURN JR.

INVENTORS ATTORNEY Patented Nov. 10, 1970 Sheet 3 015 JOSEPH H. MILLERWILLIAM H. EBURN JR MINVENTORS BYWKQM ATTORNEY Patented Nov. 10, 19703,539,074

Sheet 4 of 5 WILLIAM NVENTORS BY 6. M

ATTORNEY 34 JOSEPH H. Ml ER H. 'EbuRN JR.

ARTlCLE-DKSPENSING APPARATUS Article-dispensing apparatus of the typeembodying the present invention is especially adapted for use inwarehousing systems in which specified numbers of different articles areassembled or collected together to fill a particular order. Eachparticular type of article is dispensed from a dispensing unit orstation which may be located, along with a number of similar dispensingunits, adjacent a moving conveyor. As a designated order zone of theconveyor passes a dispensing unit, that unit discharges the requisitenumber of the articles with which it is charged, onto the zone of theconveyor and thus and order consisting of designated numbers ofparticular articles is assembled on the order zone of the conveyor whichcarries it to a loading or packaging station.

In many types of warehousing operations of this type, the articles to bedispensed are rectilinear, usually in the form of a box, package orother form of outer wrapper for a product, so that all of the articlesof a particular type are of the same, regular shape and size and can bearranged in orderly, contiguous, close-packed, rectilinear arrays suchas rows and columns. in addition to being able to handle and dispenserectilinear articles arranged as described, the dispensing apparatus ofthe invention should have additional advantageous characteristics. Forexample, it is contemplated that a large number of such dispensers maybe located side-by-side along a conveyor belt so that the area occupiedby each dispenser should be as small as possible. Not only should thedispenser be capable of handling articles over a range of sizes andshapes and be easily and readily adjusted for a particular article, butit may be necessary to shift the locations of certain articledispensers, thus making important that the dispensers beportable-preferably by hand-and easily put on and taken off the conveyorline.

Equally, if not more importantly, the dispenser must be capable ofdispensing a large number of articles, singly and in very rapidsuccession while counting the articles dispensed and terminating itsoperation when a designated number of articles have been dispensed. Thisalso requires that the dispenser be constructed in a manner such that itcan be loaded with a supply of the articles easily and rapidly.

The provision of an article dispenser possessing the foregoingenumerated characteristics and advantages constitutes an object of thepresent invention.

Other objects of the invention will in part be obvious and will in partappear hereinafter.

The invention accordingly comprises the apparatus possessing theconstruction, combination of elements and arrangement of parts, whichare exemplified in the following detailed disclosure, and the scope ofthe application of which will be indicated in the claims.

For a fuller understanding of the nature and objects of the invention,reference should be had to the following detailed description taken inconnection with the accompanying drawings wherein:

FiG. 1 is a perspective view of an article-dispensing apparatusaccording to the invention shown with exterior cover portions removed;

FIG. 2 is an end elevational view of the apparatus of FIG. 1 shownpartially in section for clarity of illustration;

FlG. 3 is a front elevational view similar to FIG. 2;

' FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken substantially along the line 4-4 ofFIG. 3; and

FIGS. 5 and 6 are perspective views of a loading fixture designed foruse with the invention.

Referring now to the drawings, the article dispenser of the inventionincludes a chassis or frame comprising parallel end plates 10 and 12,joined to one another by a lower crossmember 14 and a pair of shelves l6and 18 about which more will be said hereinafter. End plate 12 includesan upwardly extending section 20 and both end plates are formed with apair of parallel slots 22 located above shelf 16 and aligned with slots22 in the opposite end plate. The end plates are shaped such that whenthe lower (straight) edges thereof are disposed in a horizontal plane;shelves 16 and 18 will be inclined to the left (viewing FIG. 2) andextended section 20 of end plate 12 will also be inclined to the left(viewing FlG. 2) of vertical. A lateral guide plate 24 is engagedbetween end plates 111 and 12 and extends upwardly and to the left fromshelf 16 generally perpendicular to shelf 16. Guide plate 24 includesflanges 26 provided with tapped holes for receiving bolts 28 engaged inslots 22 and adapted, when tightened, to hold the guide plates in place,yet permitting adjustment of the position of the guide plate 2d as willbe described. Shelf 16 includes a lower step-29 along the edge closestshelf 18 and lying in the same plane as shelf 18, the latter lying in aplane parallel with and beneath the plane of shelf 16.

The dispensing apparatus is designed to hold a large number ofrectilinear articles designated 30, for example, pressboard boxes orcartons. Articles 31) are aligned in contiguous relation in rows stackedone upon the other on shelf 16 and supported on adjacent sides bysection 20 of end plate 12 and guide plate 24 due to the inclination (tothe left) of shelf 16 and guide plate 24. "in order to insure that thestack (of rows) of articles will lean against and be supported by endplate 12. and section 20 thereof, the dispenser is designed to beoperatively mounted with the ends of the shelves nearest end plate 10higher than the opposite ends of the shelves. A typical mounting systemis illustrated in FIG. 1 as comprising a pair of inclined tracks 32having T-shaped cross sections for engagement in T-shuped slots 34 inend plates 10 and 12. A plurality of pairs of tracks 32 may be providedalong the side of a conveyor belt for mounting dispensing units, and ahandle 36 may be provided on end plate 11) to facilitate carrying thedispenser and sliding it on and off the tracks.

In the operation of the dispenser, rows of articles 30 are stacked onshelf 16 and the lowest or bottom row is moved laterally onto shelf 18and step 29 from which the articles are dispensed, one at a time, bymovement of the articles toward the end of shelf 18st end plate 12.Accordingly, the apparatus includes means for shifting the bottom rowfrom the higher to the lower. shelf together with means for restrainingthe row above the bottom row against lateral motion due to friction withthe bottom row. The means for shifting the bottom row include a pusherbar 38 extending between end plates 10 and 12, engaged in arcuate slots40 in the end plates and connected at its end outside of end plates 10and 12 to arms 42 mounted on a shaft 44 pivotally mounted near its endson the lower portions of end plates 10 and 12. Pusher bar 38 is designedto perform two functions, namely, engage and move all the articles whichcomprise the bottom row while supporting the remaining rows of articlesduring return movement of the pusher bar. in order to perform thislatter function, the bar 38 has a width at least equal to half the widthof shelf 16 and for the former purpose, ismounted for movement of itsleading edge (right-hand viewing FIG. 2) between shelf 16 and guideplate 24 from near one (the left) edge of shelf 16 to at least theopposite edge (right) of the shelf at step 29.

The dispensing apparatus is operated by a single source of power such asan electric motor 46 mounted on crossmember l4 and coupled through aconventional transmission to a cam 48 engaged with a cam follower 50mounted on an arm 52 on shaft 44 for pivoting the shaft (in a clockwisedirection viewing MG. 2) so as tomove pusher plate 38 and shift a row ofarticles from shelf 16 to shelf 18. A torsion spring 54 coiled aroundshaft and connected at its ends to crossmember 14 and arm 52 is providedfor retaining the cam follower against the cam and returning pusher bar38 to its initial position.

The aforementioned means for retaining the next-to-thebottom row ofarticles against lateral motion comprise a support bracket 56 mounted onend plate 12 above shelf 18 and extending to a position closely adjacentend plate 10. Bracket 56 is mounted so that its position can be adjustedupwardly and downwardly to accommodate articles of differing heights andfor this purpose, includes tapped holes for receiving bolts 60 engagedin a slot 62 in end plate 12. Bracket 51' includes a guide portion 64having a surface-facing guide plate 24, located substantially parallelwith guide plate 24 and the edge of shelf 16 at step 29 and spacedslightly inwardly toward the guide plate from the edge of the shelf. Theadjustable mounting of the guide plate and the bracket provide forspacing the opposed surfaces of the guide plate and guide portion 64 bya distance approximately equal to a dimension (e.g., length) of thearticles being dispensed while locating guide portion 641 in position toengage the next-to-the-bottom row of articles while permitting thebottom row to move laterally beneath the guide portion. The guideportion of bracket 56 also includes an inclined portion for guiding anymisaligned articles into alignment between the guide portion and guideplate 24 as a row is being lowered by bar 38.

Articles arranged in a row on shelf 18 and step 29 are dispensed one ata time from the end of the shelf (and step) at end plate 12 by movingthe row lengthwise toward the end of the shelf. During this movement,the edge or corner, designated 66, of shelf 16 at step 29 functions as aguide for maintaining the articles inalignment, and end plate 12 isformed with an opening 68 allowing the articles to be moved to andbeyond the end of shelf 18 and step 29. Opening 68 is at least as wideas the combined widths of shelf 18 and step 29 and has a heightexceeding the height of the tallest article that the apparatus isadapted to dispense.

Means are provided for engaging the end article of a row supported onthe shelf and step adjacent end plate and moving the row toward the endof the shelf through opening 68. In the form shown, these means comprisea pair of generally L-shaped pushers 70 each including a vertical orupright member 72 and a transverse or crossmember 74, mounted at equallyspaced intervals on an endless chain 76 having a length exceeding twicethe length of shelf 18. Shelf l8 and step 29 are spaced apart to providea gap within which a span or length of chain 76 is supported on twoidler sprockets 78 and 80 located underlying the gap between the shelfand step near the opposite ends thereof. Each pusher 70 is adapted toextend through the gap with crossmember 74 of the pusher supported onopposite sides of the gap on shelf 11] and step 29. Crossmember 74 ispreferably of a length such that it extends to a point more than halfthe distance from edge 66 to the outer edge of shelf 18 and therebyextends to at least the middle of the longest article that can bedispensed while upright member 72 is designed to extend at least to themiddle of the tallest article that can be dispensed. This constructionis designed to prevent the application of a turning moment to thearticles that might tend to twist or overturn them. Both the upright andtransverse members are relatively narrow for reasons that will appearhereinafter.

Each pusher 70 is adapted to be moved from a position outside of endplate 10 through an opening 82 in the end plate lengthwise of shelf 18and step 29 through opening 68, thence downwardly and through an opening84 in end plate 12 beneath the shelf and step through opening 82 to itsinitial position. it being desirable that the pusher be in an uprightposition before initially engaging the end article, sprocket 78 ismounted exterior of end plate 10 and spaced outwardly therefrom, andwhereas it is important that the pusher, as rapidly as possible, get outof the way of a row of articles being moved into dispensing position assoon as the last article of the previous rows is advanced (dispensed)beyond the end of the shelf and track, sprocket 80 is mounted inside endplate 12 so that the pusher will drop down out of the way immediately asthe last ofa row of articles is dispensed.

The means for driving chain 76 and pushers 70 mounted thereon comprise adrive sprocket 86 which may be keyed to the same shaft as cam 48 ordriven through a separate transmission by motor 46. Thus, chain 76 beingmore than twice as long as the shelves and rows of articles supportedthereon, and the spacing, along the chain, between pushers exceeding thelength of a row of articles, there will be a dwell period betweenmovement of one pusher from the end of shelf 18 and the movement of theother pusher onto shelf 18 at the other end. This dwell period providestime for the cam to operate pusher plate 38 and move another row ofarticles into position to be dispensed. Moreover, both of theseoperations, that is. lateral and lengthwise movements of the rows ofarticles, are accurately coordinated since the driving forces for bothcome from the same motor if not the same shaft, the speed of which canbe varied without altering the relative timing. The lateral movement ofa row of articles into dispensing position can be accomplished in arelatively short time such that the dispensing operation is essentiallycontinuous and uninterrupted.

Gate means are provided within opening 611 in end plate 12 for resistingor inhibiting the movement of articles through the opening beyond theend of the shelf on which they are supported, and also operating acounter or other device such as a switch, providing a count of thenumber of articles dispensed during a dispensing sequence. A specifiednumber of articles can be dispensed in rapid succession during adispensing sequence by providing a motor 46 of the type adapted to startand come up to full speed and to stop in a very short interval (almostinstantaneously), and/or a clutch-brake, facilitated by a low inertiasystem enabling the pusher (dispensing) to be stopped after the last ofa specified number of articles has been dispensed and before anotherarticle can be dispensed. Since the shelves are inclined (e.g., about15") toward opening 68, the gate means perform the additional functionof preventing articles from sliding from the end of shelf 18 through theopening without being pushed.

In the form shown, these gate means comprise a plurality of fingers 90each mounted at one end on a shaft 92, in turn pivotally mounted onbracket 56, and extending outwardly and downwardly through opening 68 inposition to engage an article at approximately a angle as the articlepasses through the opening. Fingers 90 are spaced apart to permitupright sections 72 of pushers 70 to pass between them and a pluralityof fingers are provided to insure engagement of an articlc regardless ofits size (length) and are biased downwardly to a closed position (shownin FIG. 3) by a torsion spring 94. A stop is provided to limit thedownward movement of the fingers beyond the "closed" position thereof inwhich they extend outwardly and downwardly at approximately a 45 anglewith respect to shelf 18 and end plate 12.

A preferred form of counting means is shown as comprising an electricalswitch 96 mounted on bracket 56 and including a plunger 98 engaged witha radial projection 100 on shaft 92. Switch 96 may be of the typeadapted to produce an electrical pulse or signal in response todepression of plunger 98 due to the downward movement of fingers 90,which occurs only when an article is dispensed. This arrangementprecludes a false signal that an article has been dispensed since thefingers can only move downwardly after an article has passed beyond theend edge of shelf 18 and has, in fact, been propelled downwardly by theaction of the spring biased fingers.

An inclined chute 102 is provided on end plate 12 for guiding dispensedarticles to wherever they are to go such as onto a conveyor belt and thechute is provided with an opening 104 to permit the passage of pushcrs70. So that the articles will not get caught in opening 104, the size ofopening 104 ls' minimized and for this reason the upright andcrossmembers 72 and 74 of the pushers are made as narrow 118 possibleconsistent with having the strength required to move the articles.

In an alternative embodiment of the dispensing apparatus, a plate orpanel may be provided in place of lingers 90, having as a cross section,essentially the same configuration as the fingers and adapted tofunction in the same manner. Such a panel would be provided with anopening to permit the passage of upright member 72 of a pusher 70.

Although the gate means, i.e., fingers 90, may be operative to preventarticles from sliding through opening 68, it may be desirable to providea second gate across the opening to further insure that the articleswill not fall or slide therethrough, particularly should it becomenecessary to shift or carry the dispenser while loaded with articles. Asecond gate or door 1116 is shown pivotally mounted on the outside ofend plate 12 above opening 68 in the end plate and suspended swing opento allow the passage of an article being moved by a 5 pusher 70. Thegate is formed with openings 112 which allow fingers 90 to extendthrough opening 68 and operate without interference from gate 106 and agenerally L-shaped opening 114 to permit the unhampered movement ofpushers 70.

Reference is now made to FIGS. 5 and 6 wherein there is shown a fixturefor loading articles to be dispensed into the apparatus of theinvention, especially designed to provide for rapid and convenientloading to permit continuous uninterrupted operation of the dispenser.The loading fixture. designated 130, comprises a base plate 132 having aflange 134 on one side, a handle 136 on an adjoining side and a post 138providing an additional handle. The loading fixture is designed toaccept articles supplied in cartons and transferred to the loadingfixture by inverting the cartons on the horizontally positioned baseplate, lifting off the carton and then shifting the fixture so that thebase plate is in a generally vertical plane with the articles arrangedin rows supported on flange 134. A side plate 140 is slidably mounted onflange 134 for moving the stacked rows of articles relative to the baseplate and flange from the end of the flange furthest from handle 136. Inuse, the loaded loading fixture is positioned with base plate 132against guide plate 24 and flange 134 resting on the upper row ofarticles in the dispenser. The handle 136 is then gripped and the baseplate withdrawn from end plate 12 while the articles are retained inplace against the end plate by side plate 140 which is held stationarywith the aid ofa handle 142.

it is evident that the dispensing apparatus disclosed herein is capableof dispensing singly and in rapid succession, a selected number ofrectilinear articles of a range of sizes and shapes, that it will do soreliably and continuously so long as it is kept loaded with articles,and that loading of articles into the apparatus while the apparatus isin operation can be performed easily and expeditiously. Moreover,'theconstruction of the dispensing apparatus is relatively simple,comprising a minimum of easily fabricated and readily assembledcomponents and compact such that the apparatus is portable and occupiesa minimum area, being only slightly longer than a row of articles to bedispensed and only a little wider than twice the combined widths of tworows of articles.

Since certain changes may be made in the above apparatus withoutdeparting from the scope of the invention herein involved, it isintended that all matter contained in the above description or shown inthe accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and notin a limiting sense.

We claim:

1. Apparatus for dispensing articles singly and in rapid successioncomprising, in combination:

holding means for supporting a multiplicity of articles aligned in rowsarranged in stacked relation;

guide means adjacent said holding means for supporting a row of saidarticles in alignment while permitting lateral movement of said row;

first pusher means for engaging said articles comprising the bottom rowof articles and moving said bottom row laterally onto said guide means;

gate means located at one end of said guide means and biased into aclosed position in which said gate means oppose the movement of an endarticle in said row supported by said guide means beyond said end ofsaid guide means, said gate means being movable to an open position byand in response to engagement with said end article during dispensingmovement of said end article beyond said end of said guide means;

second pusher means for engaging said article at the opposite end ofsaid row and moving said row lengthwise relative to said guide meanstoward said end thereof and said gate means; and

signaling means coupled with said gate means for producing a signalindicating the dispensing of an article in response to movement of saidgate means between said open and closed positions thereof.

2. Apparatus for dispensing articles as defined in claim 1 wherein saidguide means include a shelf inclined toward one side and toward said oneend and means along said one side of said shelf for aligning and guidingsaid articles supported on said shelf.

3. Apparatus for dispensing articles as defined in claim 2 wherein saidholding means include a second shelf having one side located adjacentand above the first-mentioned shelf and inclined away from the latterand upstanding means spaced from said one side of said second shelf forsupporting said rows of said articles .in stacked relation on saidsecond shelf.

4. Apparatus for dispensing articles as defined in claim 3 includingretaining means extending across said one end of said first-mentionedshelf and the adjacent end of said second shelf and including an openingat said one end of said first-mentione d shelf through which saidarticles are movable, and wherein said gate means extend downwardlyacross said openmg. 1

5. Apparatus for dispensing articles as defined in claim 1 wherein saidguide means include a shelf and means along one side of said shelf foraligning and guiding articles supported on said shelf, and said gatemeans include a gate member pivotally mounted above one end of saidshelf and extending downwardly across the path of movement of saidarticles along said shelf toward said one end thereof.

6. Apparatus for dispensing articles as defined in claim 5 including asecond gate located across said one end of said shelf and mounted formovement independently of said gate member in response to engagement bytm article being dispensed, said second gate including an openingthrough which said gate member extends and is free to move.

7. Apparatus for dispensing articles as defined in claim 5 wherein theheight of said gate means above said shelf is adjustable to permitarticles of different heights to pass beneath said gate means whileopening said gate.

8. Apparatus for dispensing articles as defined in claim 7 wherein saidgate member is pivotally mounted and is biased downwardly toward saidone end of said shelf into said closed position and said signaling meansare responsive to the downward movement of said gate member into saidclosed position.

9. Apparatus for dispensing articles as defined in claim wherein saidsecond pusher means include a pair of pusher members and carrier meansfor moving each of said pusher members above said shelf toward said oneend of said shelf from an initial position at the opposite end of saidshelf in engagement with said article at said opposite end of a row onsaid shelf while simultaneously returning the other of said pushermembers to said initial position.

10. Apparatus for dispensing articles as defined in claim 9 includingdrive means for operating said carrier means and simultaneouslyoperating said first pusher means to move a row of said articles ontosaid shelf during the interval between movement of one of said pushermembers beyond said one end of said shelf and movement of the other ofsaid pusher members into said initial position.

11. Apparatus for dispensing articles as defined in claim 9 wherein saidcarrier means comprise an endless carrier member including a sectionexceeding the length of said shelf supported for movement beneath andgenerally parallel with said shelf, toward said one end thereof, saidcarrier member being more than twice as long as said shelf and saidpusher members being mounted on said carrier member and evenly spaced byhalf the length of said carrier member.

12. Apparatus for dispensing articles as defined in claim 11 includingdrive means for moving said carrier member and simultaneously actuatingsaid first pusher means to move said bottom row of articles laterallyonto said shelf during the interval between movement of one of saidpusher members beyond said oneend of said shelf and movement of theother of said carrier members into said initial position at saidopposite end of said shelf.

13. Apparatus for dispensing articles as defined in claim 1 wherein saidholding means comprise a first shelf for supporting stacked rows of saidarticles, said first pusher means include a pusher plate at least equalin length to said shelf, having a width at least half the width of saidshelf and being mounted for movement of a leading edge of said platefrom an initial position adjacent one side of said shelf in engagementwith said articles comprising said bottom row of articles toward saidguide means to at least the opposite side of said shelf, said pusherplate being adapted to support the remainder of said rows of articlesduring return movement to said initial position.

14. Apparatus for dispensing articles as defined in claim l3 includinghorizontally adjustable support means for supporting said stackedarticles with ends thereof in substantial nlignment with one another andclosely adjacent said one side of said shelf, and vertically adjustablerestralning means for engaging the next row of articlesimmedlately'ahove said bottom row to prevent lateral motion of said nextrow during movement of said bottom row.

15. Apparatus for dispensing articles as defined in claim l4

